Bush defends his commitment to faith initiative

He's accused of not fulfilling a mission to boost federal funding for religious groups

JULIE MASON, Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau

Published 6:30 am, Wednesday, March 2, 2005

WASHINGTON - Stung by claims that his faith-based initiative is mostly political rhetoric, President Bush on Tuesday reassured religious leaders of his commitment and touted White House efforts to increase federal funding for their programs.

"I stand here in confidence knowing that this initiative makes sense because I'm a results-oriented guy, and faith organizations are achieving results we want," Bush told members of the White House Leadership Conference on Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.

Once the centerpiece of Bush's so-called "compassion agenda," the faith-based initiative is under increasing criticism from those who claim Bush uses it as window-dressing but has failed to fulfill its mission.

The policy is aimed at directing a greater share of federal grant funds to religious groups providing social services such as drug counseling and homeless shelters.

Motivations questioned

David Kuo
, former deputy director of the
White House Office
on Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, said in a widely publicized essay in the online religious magazine Beliefnet.com that the promises Bush made remain unfulfilled, "in spirit and in fact."

Creating the program mollified many religious conservatives and appealed to some religious minorities, Kuo said, but White House leadership failed to follow through with meaningful funding or policies.

"The faith-based office was the cross around the White House's neck showing the president's own faith orientation," Kuo said.

"That was sufficient."

Kuo's claims followed those of John DiIullio, former director of the White House faith-based program, who said in 2002 after leaving his job that the administration was run by "Mayberry Machievellis" more intent on scoring political points than policy.

He later apologized for his statements.

Citing an uphill battle

Jim Towey
, director of the faith-based program in the White House, said Bush has tried for years with little success to get sufficient funding and support from Congress, but has never abandoned the faith-based program.

"David is entitled to his opinion," Towey said of Kuo. "I can certainly cite for you facts that show, from my standpoint in the three years that I've been director of this initiative, that President Bush has made the faith-based and community initiative a top priority."

According to Towey, funding to faith-based programs from five agencies in fiscal 2004 was $1.3 billion, compared with about $1.1 billion in fiscal 2003.